FOSTERING BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION

At The Presidential Retreat on National Security

Abuja, 10 August, 2001

It is a matter of satisfaction for me to address this Retreat where we will be focusing our deliberations on the state of the Nigerian nation.

I assume that every man, woman, and child in this country considers it desirable to have progress, prosperity and peace. Quite naturally, the method to achieve this desirable goal differs from individual to individual. So also are the perceptions of problems and the challenges associated with the threats which the country faces in the quest for a better life.

Nevertheless, no concept of good life has any serious value if it does not assume the cardinal importance of security for the individual, and security for the society at large. Security in its fundamental principle means an assurance of life for every member of the society, which allows the individual to wake up each day, go about his legitimate business of earning a living, or pursuing a leisure, unhindered, unimpeded, and retiring at the end of that day, fulfilled and with hope for the next day, where, barring an act of God, he can resume his life as a free citizen, with equity and choice. For an individual, as for a nation, security has internal and external context.

The march of human civilization has derived from the advantages of security, to be obtained in living, sharing, and caring for one another. Security is what we all desire from a society, and security of other members of the society, is what we individually owe the society. The leadership of the society must recognise that to lack in material terms creates insecurity. And therefore a person who lacks basic necessities of life is not a free person in his choice of how to survive. As the saying goes “a hungry man is an angry man”. Such a person who lacks food-security is thus a threat to the security of his neighbours. Equality of opportunity is a significant factor of societal stability and security.

I note with satisfaction that we have assembled in this august gathering, many of the personalities who contributed, or were responsible for, getting Nigeria to where it is today. We also have those who are shaping the future of our great country. It is my hope that this forum would afford those who are at the helm of affairs in different facets of our national life, the opportunity to share ideas, and understand better, the alternative points of view offered by others, in the greater interest of our nation. It is of cardinal importance that we have an understanding of the issues, the constraints, probable solutions, and realistic assessment of what can be achieved.

Let us consider this Retreat a suitable platform for fostering better understanding and cooperation among ourselves, and the constituencies we represent. It should also be an ideal environment for the comprehensive distillation of ideas, and the articulation of best possible solutions. Our security problems are complex and seemingly intractable. But they are not insurmountable.

As the saying goes; more heads are better than one. While we have a clear vision of what we want to achieve, no one can claim a monopoly of the solutions to our problems. This is why we extended participation at this Retreat beyond that of a “training/discussion” session for people in government alone. For the first time, we have on this occasion, included traditional rulers, business leaders, and other key opinion makers in the society.

As much as we abhor crises, the reality is, it is impossible to imagine the life of a society without crises. Many are quick to point out our predilection for crisis. While most of the crises experienced are usually subdued, they defy permanent solution, and continue to erupt periodically like recurring decimals. These include ethno-communal clashes [some of which predates the Nigerian nation as in pre-colonial times], political turbulence, religious riots and incessant labour and student unrest. Successive governments have grappled with the various manifestations of these crises and conflicts. Finite solutions have continued to elude us. The search for viable strategies should be our primary concern in this Retreat.

Your Excellencies, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, let me recognise the presence here of people who represent interest groups that have been conspicuous in vociferously asserting their recognition in the last two years of democratic dispensation. In our commitment to dialogue with all strands of opinion, I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few of these people who in one form or another, claim to be marginalised or having their rights inadequately recognised.

Let us use the opportunity of this Retreat to have these grievances perceived or otherwise, tabled for discussion on how we can best absorb them in a national agenda that is equitable and just. After all the beauty of democracy is that we all contribute to the solution of equitable co-existence, and thereafter accept to share the responsibility for implementing the solutions that are jointly agreed upon.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in counting as the gains in democratic dispensation, the fact that we are now imbibing the culture of openness and dialogue without fear. According to reports reaching me, the proceedings at the Oputa Commission are the most sensational in our history of television broadcasting. What both observers and participants enjoy in Oputa Commission is the opportunity to seek for the truth, as opposed to keeping grievances bottled up for fear of oppression, and thereby heightening the feeling of vulnerability as an individual. There is no doubt that the Oputa Commission has enhanced our sense of security.

It behoves us to use this Retreat to reinforce that positive attitude in freedom of expression as a core element of consensus building, and mutual respect. Let us encourage the reorientation from the culture of antagonism, intimidation, negation and repression. Let us learn to agree to disagree without necessarily resorting to open conflict. We can argue and do so passionately, but we need not fight in order to resolve our differences.

A foreign observer has noted that our newspaper headlines give the impression that we are unduly harsh in the criticism of ourselves. Personally, I do not endorse the blanket condemnation of the efforts of all those in public office or on government appointment, who have to be given the benefit of the doubt that they are working to improve the quality of life in our country. Dismissive criticisms are not only irresponsible, they are of no value whatsoever in contributing to ideas on how to make progress.

Nigerians must be aware of the harm, in terms of breaches of security, that they do to their own country, through their own statements. Most of the reports used by non-Nigerians against us are mere collations of loose, unguarded, flippant, mostly untrue but destructive statements, made or written by us about our ourselves! This is unpatriotic behaviour at its worst. Foreign media use our own perceptions about ourselves to support the negative political risk assessment for investment in our country. Of course, if Nigerians themselves say they are bad, it must true that Nigeria is bad. And why should anyone want to invest in such a bad and high-risk country. On the other hand, without risk investments, we cannot make progress.

Every year, the United States issues Country Reports on Human Rights trends worldwide. In the case of Nigeria, the entire content of that Report is sourced from national publications. Again, Nigeria is the source of its own indictment. What it boils down to, is that we must engage our brains and our patriotic sense before we make any utterances that may have the potential of being used against us. Put another way, we must discriminate positively in favour of the interest and security of Nigeria. Bits and pieces of adverse comments put together can form a major breach of security for the nation.

Our Administration will always be open to constructive criticisms. We are not perfect, nor do we have any such claims, and we are open to the imperative of any superior argument. In this context, we take note of various criticisms, that the Nigerian public is yet to be reassured that corruption and misappropriation of public wealth is not calculated into the general notion of public service. This perception is what we are determined to stop. This perception is corrosive to social capital of trust without which all concepts of progress are hollow.

Our Administration is fully resolved to fight corruption to a standstill as part of the process of sanitising our society for the benefit and comfort of all. We believe that this war against corruption is an essential part of the process of making citizens to have the confidence and assurance with which they can make the necessary sacrifices that they may be called upon to make, for the benefit and lifting of our country to higher levels of prosperity.

Furthermore, and with particular relevance to this Retreat, corruption is a major security threat: for the way it undermines our moral fabric; for the way it corrodes the efficiency of our social organisation; and for the way it stands in antithesis to every Policy initiative that is aimed at improving our society.

The leadership may have the responsibility of the machinery for maintaining security, but this alone will not suffice until every citizen accepts his or her role. As indicated in the Nigerian Declaration of Human Responsibilities, which I espoused during the launching of the Campaign on National Rebirth in September, 1999, every Nigerian has a duty to live up to the demands of citizenship. The miscreants who create security hazards live among us. Communities which encourage criminality, such as the vandalisation of pipelines and power lines in order to extort compensation or pursue other claims, are not aliens. They are our people. The emphasis here is on the cooperation of civil society in assisting governments at all levels, to enhance security and the safety of lives and property. This forum should come up with ways and means to create awareness and expand the frontiers of security consciousness.

When we talk of security in law and order, we naturally think of law enforcement agencies, especially the police force to whom we turn to for protection against aggressive and violent neighbours. The reputation of the Nigerian Police force is familiar to us all. That some members of the police force are corrupt is an undeniable fact. Some people may say that we could perhaps put up with this level of corruption, if only policing were more efficient. For me there is no compromise with corruption. The reality is that the efficiency of the police force has lagged behind the complexity of our social development, particularly the growth of urban societies.

Our Administration has always been mindful of the need for economic security. And this is why our commitment to poverty is the litmus test of all other policies. It is our determination that in as short a time as possible, no Nigerian should lack the basic necessities of life, which includes enough to eat at affordable price, access to basic health care, living in comfortable enough shelter and housing. By tradition, we Nigerians care to share. And the insecurity of one, is the insecurity of all. Poverty eradication programme must be seen as an economic security measure which must not be allowed to fail.

This Retreat has to realistically relate the economic revival of Nigeria to national security. There are obvious links of course, between the parlous state of the economy and unemployment, which in turn accounts for criminal tendencies in a number of citizens. As stakeholders, all of us here should consider that it is paramount for national security, that enough jobs are created, that essential infrastructures are properly rehabilitated, and that we be guided at all times by the need to promote industrial and economic growth of our nation. The three major economic indicators, that is inflation, exchange rate and interest rates, may make the difference between availability of jobs and unemployment level. And, as we have pointed out earlier, unemployment is a veritable source of insecurity.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, judging by the quality, the spread and calibre of persons here present, I am confident in anticipating the best result.

Security is the responsibility of one and all. We must all be security-conscious, security-inquisitive, security-minded, security-orientated and security-motivated. One of the aims of this Retreat is to enable every individual within the nation to learn to carry out the security assignment better. Security is too serious to be left in the hands of security agencies alone.

I wish us all a most rewarding and interactive experience. And may God Almighty guide our thoughts to fruitful deliberation, and lead us to conclusions that will grant assurance of good and decent life of security to all Nigerians.

I thank you. And may God bless you all.